


First Day of School

by gracefulblue



Series: It's Friendship [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Engineer Dean, Ficlets, M/M, Professor Castiel, Slow Burn, Tooth Rotting Fluff, dadstiel, domestic AU, everyone's a fan of star wars, i just really love the idea of emma and claire being best friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 17:42:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5506937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gracefulblue/pseuds/gracefulblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They met in 1st grade.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Day of School

They met in 1st grade.

 

Emma didn’t want to go. She didn’t cry, but she refused to let go of Dean’s neck when he pulled her out of her car seat.

 

“C’mon, baby girl, you were so excited yesterday!” He stroked her long strawberry-blond hair, trying to gently pry her arms from around his neck. She whined and tightened her grip, face buried in his broad shoulder.

 

“How am I supposed to hang up your art on the fridge if you don’t go, huh?” He knew she couldn’t resist the promise of a whole hour dedicated to coloring. The apartment was filled with coloring books, and a giant box of crayons, colored pencils, markers, and pens. Art was her whole entire life. “I color at home,” was her muffled reply.

 

Dean groaned inwardly. He looked around the brightly colored room, complete with tiny chairs and other parents making sure their kids had everything, looking for something that would get her excited to socialize. He saw her in the corner, sitting at the front table , with the perfect opportunity spread out in front of her.

 

“Hey, Em,” Dean said, turning so she could look. “That girl over there has Wikket on her shirt. You wanna go show her your Star Wars coloring book?” If there was one thing his daughter loved more than coloring, it was Star Wars. It was how he knew he was doing a good job raising her.

 

Just like he knew she would, Emma snapped her head up and twisted herself as much as she could to get a better look. “Where?” She demanded, eyebrows furrowed and lips puckered in focus. The expression was painfully similar to what Lydia would do. Not that Dean was gonna start thinking about Lydia today.

 

“Right there,” Dean said, pointing to the table the girl sat at. 

 

She would’ve jumped out of his arms if he hadn’t put her down fast enough.

 

Emma raced to join the girl, plastic backpack bouncing. She got halfway, spun around, and ran back to give Dean a hug and kiss goodbye. “Bye bye, Daddy, may The Force be with you!”

 

“May The Force be with you too, sweetheart.” Dean smiled, that huge smile that make his eyes crinkle, the kind he got when it felt like his heart would burst with how much he loved his daughter. This time, it was tinged with tiniest bit of sadness.  _ My baby girl’s growing up _ , he thought, which was ridiculous, since Emma was only six years old. But, he couldn’t help feeling like it had just been yesterday that he’d held her for the very first time in that hospital. It was too fast.

 

He left with the image of Emma and her new friend looking at the pages she’d already colored, and the heavy weight of time passing in his chest.

 

~~~

 

Claire, on the other hand, couldn’t wait to start school.

 

All through breakfast, she talked about what she would do at school. She was most excited about looking for bugs with the other kids, and the class guinea pig that she’d seen when she went to talk to the teacher. Though he wasn’t nearly as loud about it, Castiel was just as excited as his daughter.

 

When he picked her up, her smile stretched from ear to ear. She was with another little girl, holding hands and taking turns petting Clarence. Castiel leaned against the wall, watching Claire and her new friend for a few minutes.

 

When Claire spotted him, she dragged her new friend over. “Hi Daddy!”

 

“Hello, sweetheart. Who’s your new friend?”

 

“This is Emma! She likes Star Wars too, Daddy.” Castiel could tell--her hair was held back by a clip with the Millennium Falcon on it. He would have to ask her parent where they’d got it.

 

The end of the day was much like the beginning: Claire talking nonstop about her day at school. 

 

“. . .and I got a green folder, cause green’s my favorite, and I found a rollie pollie ollie at recess, Daddy! And we learned a dance in circle time,” at which point she got out of her chair at the table and proceeded to wiggle around “like a bumble bee, Daddy,” all while insisting Castiel join her and learn the dance as well. They were both giggling and panting by the end of it.

 

“And,” she continued, drawing the word out for dramatic effect ( _ just like Amelia, _ Castiel couldn’t help but think), “Emma let me color in her coloring book.” Her grin lit up the entire room.

 

“Yeah? What was the picture?”

 

“R2D2 and C3PO, but I made R2D2 green instead of blue.” Castiel wasn’t surprised by this at all--dinosaurs and bugs and her stuffed Yoda were all green, so therefore, anything worth its weight in salt must also be green. It was common knowledge in the Novak household.

 

This went on all through dinner, cartoons, bathtime, and only ended when it was time for two stories, a song, and getting tucked in. The last thing she said on the subject was “Daddy, I think you would like Emma’s daddy. Han Solo is his favorite, too.”

 

“He is, huh? Well, we’ll just have to invite them over for dinner, won’t we?” This earned him a sleepy nod and the usual I Love You sign he taught her. Castiel kissed Claire’s head, stroked her golden blond hair, and flicked on her Yoda night light before closing her door with a gentle click.

 

Downstairs, Castiel poured himself a glass of wine and settled down to grade his seniors AP Physics tests. He got through four before his mind inadvertently wandered back three years ago, when the two stories were read by one parent each, the songs had a harmony and a melody, and his wife sat across from him on the couch, legs slotted together, grading her essays. The house had been so full of life back then. . .

  
Now, the only thing he had to remember Amelia by was Claire. He would be damned if he let her grow up too fast.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea how long this series will be; I just plan on adding bits and pieces to it as I go. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! If you have any suggestions for what I should add, or a different story entirely, you can find me over at [graceful-blue](http://graceful-blue.tumblr.com/)


End file.
